Brick-and-mortar retailers are facing more competition than ever
from online suppliers like Amazon: e-commerce sales increased 17 percent
in the first quarter of this year from 2011, according to
ComScore.

“Service is even more important than it’s ever been. If I’m going
to spend the time and effort of going to a store, the service had
better be good,” Stephen Sadove, CEO of Saks, told WWD. Saks is
reevaluating how long its employees should wait before asking
"How can I help you?"

Meanwhile, Target is trying to reduce its register wait times to
under one minute. And JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson is trying to make the consumer
experience more like that of his Alma Mater, Apple.

Retailers also implied they'd be more lax with returns, including
Nordstrom:

Consumer loyalty has gotten a big boost from the company’s
generous return policy. “We’ve long known that more than anything
else, the message of trust that comes from having a liberal
approach to returns is a driver of our business,” Nordstrom said.
“Are there some people that take advantage? There may be, but
we’ll deal with those few outliers.”

Target takes a similarly flexible approach to its staff and
service. “We empower all stores to make decisions on a
guest-by-guest basis,” said Carrie Hughes, group director of
stores at Target. “It’s whatever makes sense for that guest.”

Will providing consumers with what they should have all along
help edge out online competition?